De Beers has earmarked its highest category-marketing spend in 10 years to promote natural diamonds and drive demand.

The miner did not specify the amount, but it noted in a letter to shareholders that it planned to match any country’s natural-diamond marketing contributions for this year, and invited proposals.

The company is already working with several industry organizations, including the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) on their category-marketing initiatives, it commented. De Beers asked companies to use their advertising to “fight the false myths on lab-grown diamonds” and to “differentiate natural and lab-grown.”

“To date, we have announced strategic collaborations with key retailers and launched new category campaigns in the US, China and India,” the mining giant told Rapaport News. “As part of our approach, we are also committed to working with stakeholders across the industry, including countries, to drive and amplify natural-diamond category-marketing efforts as we collectively seek to bring the magic of natural diamonds to a new generation of consumers.”

Courtesy: Rapaport